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Pilot VP standard vs Pilot VP Decimo


MichaelD

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Does anyone know if the nibs are the same for both pens?

If I purchased a Decimo and wanted a different nib size (F, M, Broad), would it have to be a Decimo nib or would a Pilot VP standard nib, which we can easily purchase in the US, work?

 

Thanks

Michael

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I think you need to file down the knob that guides the nib unit into the pen body in the correct orientation for a VP nib to fit into a decimo body.

 

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Stephen

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Hi,

 

The nibs are the same and interchange. Decimo nibs run finer because they are (or were) for the Japanese market.

 

Dillon

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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hi,

 

in a prior discussion about the decimo, richard pointed out that the current vp nib unit has to be modified to fit the decimo. email richard as he can explain the modifications. he also can modify the nibs into italics etc. at the same time he modifies the unit to fit the decimo.

 

:eureka: :eureka: :eureka: :eureka:

 

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

 

:ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd:

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking- william butler yeats
Unless you are educated in metaphor, you are not safe to be let loose in the world. robert frost

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Dillon is correct. The nib units are interchangable, but to use the twist converter with the nib unit in the Decimo a change must be made. That I'll leave to Richard to again explain. The bladder (aerometric type, but no breather) converter will, when used with the nib unit, fit either the Decimo or the current VP without modification.

 

As mentioned previously, the Decimo is furnished, in Japan, with an 18K nib unit, as opposed to the 14K nib unit that accompanies the current VP in the U.S. Don't know which nib unit will be provided with the Decimo when it is available in the U.S.

Roger

Southern Arizona, USA

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I only use cartridges with the vanishing point, that I fill on my own, since I find it to be less of a problem. A VP nib with a cartridge and the metal sleeve that goes over the cartridge would just fit into a decimo as is then?

 

Stephen

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The nib units are interchangable, but to use the twist converter with the nib unit in the Decimo a change must be made.

The twist converter looks like it's the same length as the sac converter when inserted in the nib assembly, but the angle of the taper on the end is different. If you try to use a twist converter in a Decemo or the old plastic VP, the converter doesn't sit far enough into the button end. That pushes everything forward a bit, which means that the trap door gets pushed open ever so slightly, and the pen will dry out.

 

I preffer the sac converter that came with the Decemo as it holds more ink. (or seems to anyway!) Sac converters are supplied with the Decemo, and the Capless pens sold in Japan. I don't know why, but they don't seem to have the problem with the rubber swelling that the sac converters that came with the VP pens had.

 

A nib swap with my VP was the first thing I tried with my Decimo when I got it back in December.

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Dillon is correct. The nib units are interchangable, but to use the twist converter with the nib unit in the Decimo a change must be made.

I'm sorry, but this simply isn't right.

 

The décimo's nibs will work with no problems in an ordinary VP, but the VP nibs sold in the USA will not work in the décimo. The key on the side of the nib carrier, which slides along the slot in the barrel, will bind up against the inside surface of the décimo's barrel. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

 

The piston converter will work in a décimo -- it won't work in an older faceted plastic-bodied Namilki VP because there's a brass collar in the back part of the barrel to hold the mechanism in place. That collar's inside diameter is too small to pass the piston converter's metal housing, so the nib unit cannot retract far enough in these older pens.

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

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The nib units are interchangable, but to use the twist converter with the nib unit in the Decimo a change must be made.

The twist converter looks like it's the same length as the sac converter when inserted in the nib assembly, but the angle of the taper on the end is different. If you try to use a twist converter in a Decemo or the old plastic VP, the converter doesn't sit far enough into the button end. That pushes everything forward a bit, which means that the trap door gets pushed open ever so slightly, and the pen will dry out.

 

I preffer the sac converter that came with the Decemo as it holds more ink. (or seems to anyway!) Sac converters are supplied with the Decemo, and the Capless pens sold in Japan. I don't know why, but they don't seem to have the problem with the rubber swelling that the sac converters that came with the VP pens had.

 

A nib swap with my VP was the first thing I tried with my Decimo when I got it back in December.

??

 

I had no problems...

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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I'm sorry, but this simply isn't right.

 

The décimo's nibs will work with no problems in an ordinary VP, but the VP nibs sold in the USA will not work in the décimo. The key on the side of the nib carrier, which slides along the slot in the barrel, will bind up against the inside surface of the décimo's barrel. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Well, I'm also sorry, Richard, but my tee shirt reads differently. I'm sittin' right here with both of the critters in hand. The nib unit from my current VP production, bought in the U.S. fits and operates without problems in the Decimo purchased from Japan. No binding is noted and the trap door operates with full range of motion in both directions.

 

The nib units with bladder converters interchange between the current VP and the Decimo without any perceptible differences. Only difference is the 14K vs. the 18 K nibs.

 

Could they have made a production change in the Decimo between when you bought yours and I bought mine?

Roger

Southern Arizona, USA

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Could they have made a production change in the Decimo between when you bought yours and I bought mine?

I doubt it. The nibs I have bought directly from Namiki USA, within the past three months, do not work in my décimo. Rather than a change in the décimo, I suspect a change in the nib units. These that I have may be older than the décimo and may have been in stock for a long time, and nib units that they are making NOW may work.

 

My advice: be careful with the décimo. Check it when you put a nib unit from another pen into it, to be sure that it retracts completely, smoothly, and freely. The nib units I have do bind up! :)

sig.jpg.2d63a57b2eed52a0310c0428310c3731.jpg

 

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Rather than a change in the décimo, I suspect a change in the nib units. These that I have may be older than the décimo and may have been in stock for a long time, and nib units that they are making NOW may work.

That is a definite possibility and could explain Dillo and me not having a problem.

 

My advice: be careful with the décimo. Check it when you put a nib unit from another pen into it, to be sure that it retracts completely, smoothly, and freely. The nib units I have do bind up! :)

Caution is always a good idea. Don't never force nuthin'! :P

 

And for Betty... I don't think they are yet available in the U.S., but I think it was on this forum recently where someone said that it was in the works. But, if your patience is lacking, as mine was, that dealer that Richard cites above is very reliable and those of us who have used him have been pleased with the service.

Roger

Southern Arizona, USA

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Roger - so which do you like better - the standard or the decimo?

"I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them."

- Baruch Spinoza

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Roger - so which do you like better - the standard or the decimo?

And which color did you get? I'd like to see a better photo of the yellow than what I've seen so far.

 

Stephen

Current Favorite Inks

Noodlers La Reine Mauve Noodlers Walnut

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The décimo's nibs will work with no problems in an ordinary VP, but the VP nibs sold in the USA will not work in the décimo. The key on the side of the nib carrier, which slides along the slot in the barrel, will bind up against the inside surface of the décimo's barrel. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Hmmm....

 

Must be the difference in the size of the "T" shirt. <_<

 

We'll have to try this in DC. I didn't have a problem at all with the nibs that I tried in my Decimo. I suspect that there may be variation, and that some of them allow a Namiki nib assembly to squeek by, and others mignt bind. Maybe you just got "lucky" Richard! ;)

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hi,

 

the decimo yellow is a drab mustard to me. the pink is real pastelly--if that's a word. the blue is the only "vibrant" color. i heard that namiki will be introducing a new vp soon. I assumed it to be the decimo in "americanized colors. We'll see.

i will have to try that piston coverter in my decimo--is it the usual namiki converter?

 

:)9 :)9 :)9 :)9

 

:ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd:

 

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

 

:bunny1: :meow: :bunny1: :meow:

Edited by aunt rebecca

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking- william butler yeats
Unless you are educated in metaphor, you are not safe to be let loose in the world. robert frost

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hi,

 

the decimo yellow is a drab mustard to me.  the pink is real pastelly--if that's a word.  the blue is the only "vibrant" color.  i heard that namiki will be introducing a new vp soon.  I assumed it to be the decimo in "americanized colors.  We'll see.

if you look at the Japan Pilot site, you'll see the VP in grey. If you look at Pam's site, you'll see that she is taking orders for this new US color (but you have to call her re: price.) I'd have to see it in person. in the pics it looks far too "matte" and dark for my taste. But some might like it, especially with the rhodium furniture.

 

FPH image - scroll down to the fifth pen

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Edited by KCat

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Roger - so which do you like better - the standard or the decimo?

And which color did you get? I'd like to see a better photo of the yellow than what I've seen so far.

 

Stephen

I'm not likely to write a whole lot at a time, Ryan, so the fatigue factor of a heavy pen isn't much of a consideration, thus the current VP is fine by me, but the Decimo definitely has a sleeker look that is nice. Also, the extra girth and the placement of the clip doesn't bother me either, so I seem to fit pens much like I drink beer. There's no such thing as bad beer, cause even when it's bad, it's pretty good! :P My standard VP is the red with GT.

 

The colors of the Decimo, so far, have been pretty dull with Richard having probably the most flamboyant of the bunch! Being the laid back, low profile, condescending type :lol:, I opted for the grey mica Decimo.

post-4-1150922688_thumb.jpg

Roger

Southern Arizona, USA

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if you look at the Japan Pilot site, you'll see the VP in grey.  If you look at Pam's site, you'll see that she is taking orders for this new US color

Ah, so it's grey. I'm unsure how excited I can get about grey. :(

 

Oh, for a red carbonesque or a mandarin yellow ...

 

Hey winedoc, when is that mandarin yellow pen of yours going to materialize? :P

 

Stephen

Current Favorite Inks

Noodlers La Reine Mauve Noodlers Walnut

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